To listen to our entire conversation with John, click on the player.

Tom:                           John Fargher is chief operations officer for Australia-based AgriWebb. The company is among 10 startups selected from a field of more than 180 applicants to take part in The Pearse Lyons Accelerator program. We thank you for joining us, John.

John:                           Thank you for having us.

Tom:                           What is AgriWebb? How did it get started?

John:                           AgriWebb is a farm management and herd management software. We’re specifically focusing on the livestock industry, particularly red meats, so sheep and cattle producers, based down in Australia.

                                    I’m originally a fifth generation livestock producer myself, so I identified the problem on our own family farm, which is a simple one: farmers and ranchers running their businesses off pencil and paper. They’re recording their data down in that notepad. So, we built an app to digitize those farm records. We can now track all the inputs and all the outputs across that business and then facilitate data-driven decisions through reports and insights.

Tom:                           Does this enable you to carry a device throughout the operations and record data and so forth?

John:                           That’s absolutely right. We’ve built an app that you can run on your mobile device. It works right in your pasture, in the field. You can be recording all of your business information. And then when it hits that connection, it’s going to sync to the cloud. And through the portal, you can actually then start doing some insights and some reporting. We present that data back to make those data-driven decisions, increase the efficiency and productivity of that business.

Tom:                           You know, a number of the folks who have come in for an interview for these podcasts have mentioned in one way or another how important data has become in farming. And it seems to me as though you’re catering to that interest.

John:                           Yeah. That’s right. We’re looking at these businesses, some of them multimillion dollar businesses. And they are run through archaic methods. You know, “Why are you making these decisions? Well, ‘cause dad and grandpa did it that way.” And now, there’s a desire and a need for these businesses to do more with less, increase those efficiencies and start making data-driven decisions to really refine the process, track those performances and then make decisions based on what’s performing. We look at all other industries that have benefited from the use of data and through the use of these process improvements. And that’s what we’re doing in this space.

Tom:                           A number of the people who we have spoken with have mentioned the rise of “big data” and how it has become so important in agriculture. Would you agree with that, and is that really what AgriWebb addresses?

John:                           Yeah. Absolutely. For us, there are two aspects to that. The first one is the data collection and management at the farm level to help that producer manage their business, make those data-driven decisions, track inputs and outputs, and drive their business forward with software results.

                                    The second component is across the supply chain. The data now shows that the consumer is driving a lot more demand for traceability in their food for security, health reasons, health risks. So, this information we’re collecting, sure, it’s useful for a farmer to help their business, but it’s also useful because it’s been collected on-farm. That data can then go through the supply chain into the processing so the meat processors can really secure that traceable supply chain.

Tom:                           Will that information in some way be made available on the consumer end?

John:                           I think in time there’s a huge opportunity for that. We’ve got to get through a few stages. But it’s about linking it from farm to that next stage and then really having that end-to-end solution, which may be made up of other products and solutions along the way. But I think that’s where the industry is going to go. And I think that that’s what the consumer is going to demand.

Tom:                           How does this systematic collection of data change a farm’s operation?

John:                           It’s all traditional decision-making, typically. It’s decisions made because that’s the way dad it or that’s the way grandpa did it. So, what we’re doing is decisions made off what’s performing and what’s not: the inputs, the outputs, looking at yields, looking at cost. The decisions now are run purely on what the data is telling them. It’s a big shift from the day-to-day activities to actually relying on these tools and then having trust in these tools to deliver a better result.

Tom:                           So, it really tightens the efficiency?

John:                           Absolutely.

Tom:                           How is the industry responding to your product?

John:                           It’s a very, very exciting time to be in the ag-tech space. There’s a shift in demand, and people are starting to look for tools that can help their businesses. There’s also a shift from these younger generations coming back in. They may have had other careers in other areas, and they’re now driven back to agriculture. So, they’re looking for tools that exist in other industries to help with their businesses.

                                    We see a huge increase in awareness of the technology, and a prime example is, our best ROI on our marketing and sales is through digital and social media. So, people are looking for it. It’s a perfect age bracket between the sort of 30- to 50-year-old. So, I think the timing is perfect for these solutions.

Tom:                           What was it like for you to learn that AgriWebb is one of only 10 out of 180 finalists in The Pearse Lyons Accelerator program?

John:                           Well, we’re obviously very, very excited to be a part of this program. You know, we’re the only company out of Australia to be selected. On a global stage, it gives us great awareness. It opens up opportunities to look at new territories, look at what’s happening out there in the market, understand how other producers are running their business. So, for us, it’s going to be a big step in helping us shift, and develop, and really look to expand.

Tom:                           Since you grew up in the business looking at the need for this data and now your own company is producing it, that must be enormously satisfying.

John:                           Yeah, it is. It’s very, very exciting to see our own family business developing and evolving and also now to see some of our customers that have been with us for 12 or so months and the results that I’m seeing. They’re getting an increase in productivity by up to 18 percent. To see those results and deliver those results for our customers is very rewarding.

                                    We’re all about trust and building relationships with our customers. That’s proven by the fact that we haven’t had any customers leave us through the journey. And so, I think it’s about building trust and lasting relationships and showing that we can deliver some good results for them.

Tom:                           John Fargher is chief operations officer for Australia-based AgriWebb. We thank you for joining us.

John:                           Thank you so much.

John Fargher spoke at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). To hear more talks from the conference, sign up for the Alltech Idea Lab. For access, click on the button below.

Wait. In China they can do what?

Where on the planet can you try out a new beer, share photos of the brew on social media, buy a six-pack through that same social media channel and have it delivered to your doorstep?

In the world’s biggest beer-drinking market: China.

Chinese consumers — as a group, the world’s largest — spent $5.5 trillion on all sorts of purchases made through mobile payment platforms last year. That’s about 50 times the amount spent in this manner in the U.S., according to the Financial Times.

And well-positioned to accommodate a rapidly changing consumer landscape across China is Alltech Brewing.

“They can go on our WeChat channel,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, global vice president and head of the company’s Greater China division. “They can say ‘I just had a Kentucky Ale^®’ and they can actually order it directly through that app.”

That’s a far cry from the China of not all that long ago. Most Chinese over age 55 readily recall the austere conditions of the Cultural Revolution of the ‘60s and ‘70s. If in those days you had suggested that private consumption would someday be a significant force in the Chinese economy, no one would have believed it.

But over time, the nation’s industrialization has steadily increased mainstream affluence. Frugality is giving way to consumerism made affordable by discretionary income. Younger generations, driven by digital technologies and social media, are entering the market relatively free of the influences of the past.

“The pace of change in China is very, very fast, and a mere couple of weeks can change the entire dynamic, which means that strategies must be adapted,” said Mark Lyons. “The Western model of quarterly plans or even annual plans does not fit well where competitors can be operating in a much more real-time pace.”

In a report entitled “Meet the Chinese Consumer of 2020,” the McKinsey Quarterly notes that an outcome of this noticeable trend in consumer spending “is a propensity to trade up, driven increasingly by consumers aspiring to improve themselves, the way they live and their perceived social standing. Many Chinese, like their Western counterparts, judge themselves and others by what they buy.”

In its own analysis, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecasts nearly 35 percent of the population, or around 480 million consumers, will meet its definitions of upper middle-income and high-income by 2030. That’s larger than the entire U.S. population of 321 million.

The EIU predicts that the portion of the Chinese population defined as low-income will shrink from 36.9 percent in 2015 to just 11 percent in 2030.

“There will be a corresponding bulge in the middle-income bracket, with a growing portion of the population falling within its upper reaches,” stated the EIU in a recent report. “The share of high-income consumers, with annual disposable income of above RMB 200,000 (US $32,100), will rise from just 2.6 percent in 2015 to 14.5 percent in 2030. China will look and feel like a more middle-class society.”

The trend is altering the consumer landscape in the world’s most populous nation as this rapidly emerging middle class expresses changes in preferences and tastes, upgrading consumption habits and switching to more expensive and premium brands — including the libations selected for personal consumption and entertaining.

A key to the success of Alltech’s beverages in China has been savvy pricing, according to Patrick Lin, Asia manager of Alltech Brewing.

“In the past, the highest-selling alcohol products were either on the lowest end of the price scale — mass-produced beer and spirits — or in the highest range — cognacs, high-end wine, etcetera,” said Lin. “Now, the new middle-class consumer is demanding something that’s in-between. 

“They no longer want the lower-priced beer their parents drank, and at the same time, they don’t want to spend the massive amounts that previously were spent on luxury alcohol products that were consumed as gifts and at banquets,” he explained. “The middle class wants to go out to restaurants and bars that are offering unique products and environments that are affordable, but not cheap.”

The China beyond Shanghai and Beijing

China is an immense nation of 31 provinces, its regions so diverse that the whole resembles a collection of separate countries.

“I often see companies coming in and seeing Shanghai, maybe Beijing, and assuming that they understand the country,” observed Mark Lyons.

And that, he says, can be a fatal mistake.

“Many subregions are very different in not only their levels of development, but personal, cultural preferences, in terms of the types of products consumers are looking for, but also business practices,” he explained. “This is where it is crucial to have local people in each market. We have representatives in virtually every province of China, and our regional representative offices help us considerably to be able to be more in touch with these local changes.”

Alltech founder and president Dr. Pearse Lyons has long been preparing his company to capitalize on the transitions now occurring in China. Alltech has 250 employees in the country, spread among offices in Chengdu, Guangzhou and Qingdao, with a factory in Tianjin and another expected to open in southern China.

“We have been in China for over 25 years,” he said. “We know the marketplace, and they know us. Therefore, to bring the beer in was almost like a logical extension. We decided to go to the market, so we reached out to our connections. We already had the resources there. They were well-educated, could speak the language and were Kentuckians. We needed to give them something that fit, like Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale^®.”

With the launch of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale in China five years ago, Alltech became the first independently owned American craft brewery to produce beer in China for national distribution. The division now sells 10 different brews made by Alltech, including Kentucky White Ale^® , a citrus wheat beer that recently joined the beverage line. 

Sales expanded to Taiwan in 2015, then on to Hong Kong and Japan. Today, Alltech Brewing is the largest independently owned American craft brewery operating in China.

Alltech’s spirits were introduced to the market three years ago, including Town Branch^® Bourbon, Town Branch^® Rye, Pearse Lyons Reserve^® and Bluegrass Sundown^®. The Foxes Rock^™ brand appeared two years ago, and 2017 has seen the addition of Ha’penny Pot Still Gin^®.

The brands are stocked in stores and restaurants in more than 400 locations across Greater China, including nearly all of the largest cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Tianjin, as well as in Hong Kong and Taipei.

The current sales focus, according to Mark Lyons, is on cities where palettes have long been accustomed to big Chinese beer brands such as Tsingtao, Yanjing and Snow.

“We’re offering something to them that looks completely different,” he said. “It’s probably three times higher in alcohol, has a very different flavor and is presented in different ways. Just getting them to try a beer is one thing. Once they do that, we see the same thing that’s happened all around the world: that conversion happens rapidly.”

And he believes the beverages’ appeal extends far beyond the city limits of China’s sprawling urban centers.

“It’s not even just second- or third-tier cities,” explained Mark Lyons. “It’s already down to communicating directly with our customers on the agricultural side who are in really small places where these sorts of products are not accessible.”

Quite a different picture in Japan

Alltech’s 2017 arrival in Japan required a recognition of dynamics that are in stark contrast with those in China.

Due to the steady aging of the population and low national birthrate, the Japanese drinking population is relatively small. But the Japanese, observed Mark Lyons, make up for it with attention to quality.

“You already have this very high level of affluence,” said Mark Lyons. “The focus on quality is extraordinary. There is such attention to every single detail. It’s a super-premium market, and I think that’s where our products can fit very nicely.”

With 290 craft breweries, according to a 2017 global craft beer survey released by The Brewers Journal and Alltech, Japan leads China (170 breweries) and Taiwan (22 breweries) among Asia-Pacific craft brewers. Australia holds the regional lead with 410. The Asia-Pacific region, however, accounts for a mere 7 percent of global craft brewery production.

Raising a pint to opportunity and partnership in China

When asked to consider Alltech Beverage’s most important achievement, Mark Lyons cites its presence and stature as the largest American craft brewer in China.

“That provides us with a platform for growth, which we’re very, very excited about,” he said.

And that growth works to the benefit of others.

“We’re beginning to sell other people’s beers,” he said. “We’re in discussions with several large American craft brewers (about) helping them come into the market.”

He notes that many craft brewers cast a wary eye in the direction of the brewing giant AB InBev and its self-titled “Disruptive Growth Organization.” The company is investing in craft breweries and craft beer bars in the Asian market.

“Many independent craft brewers are worried about this,” said Mark Lyons. “They’re concerned about middlemen and ‘gray channels,’ and they’re hesitant to get in. But when they see a company doing the types of things that we’re doing, it gives them a lot of confidence. So, we’re getting a lot of people knocking on our door. We’re seeing it as a great opportunity to provide customers with a truly independent and unique product.”

By 2020, predicts the McKinsey Quarterly, “companies (operating in China) that have focused on maximizing their brands’ scale will have to adopt a model based on a portfolio of more targeted brands or sub-brands to connect with different consumer segments.”

“Our more recent strategy on the beverage side to expand our product portfolio, including other companies’ brands, and also to diversify our own portfolio, is a response to this type of feedback from the market,” said Mark Lyons.

“It is clear that, without a great number of price points and brands that appeal to different demographics, it is difficult to really scale a business in a sustainable way,” he continued. “We have to be thinking about a market for us, in terms of craft beer, that within a little bit over a decade will have three to four times more accessible consumers.”

There are challenges to navigate, warns the EIU analysis: “China’s economic trajectory has become more uncertain, and firms will need to monitor risks accordingly in order to stay ahead of the curve.”

Pearse Lyons sees opportunity. His vision for the company’s beer and spirits interests in Asia is broad and has yet to be fully realized.

“We are actively looking at producing in other areas,” he said. “Keep in mind that we have Alltech Vietnam, Alltech Philippines, Alltech Malaysia, etcetera. Some of these offices are older than Alltech China. 

“We can use Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale as a major differentiator for us,” Pearse Lyons continued. “The strategy has been: use the beer, use the Kentucky name. We have a unique product to promote Alltech and our home state. It will slowly but surely build up the brand image.” 

When we talk about the balancing act of a healthy gastrointestinal tract, we want to make sure that calories, colostrum, cleanliness, comfort, the strength of the immune system and the health of the gut flora outweigh the pathogens that may invade the gastrointestinal tract of calves. In a recent webinar, Dr. Corale Dorn, a veterinarian at Dells Veterinary Services in Dell Rapids, South Dakota, explained how using proper management practices and keeping an eye out for diseases are key to tipping the scales in the right direction for healthy calves.

Calories

We need to adjust our thinking from quarts to the number of calories that calves are receiving through milk replacer.

“When I go out to a farm in the dead of winter in South Dakota and they are only feeding 2 quarts of 20/20 milk replacer every 12 hours, I know we are not hitting anywhere near the calorie requirements that we need,” said Dorn. “If we are completely missing the mark on these calorie requirements, we cannot expect to maintain calf health when pathogens enter the herd.”

If we are getting 2.1–2.5 pounds of average daily gain on Holstein calves, then we have enough calories to keep the calves healthy and growing. 

The calories and protein that they need depend on their weight and the temperature of their environment. For example, during the winter in South Dakota, we need to be feeding at least 6 quarts of milk a day.  This can be pasteurized whole milk or 24/20 milk replacer.

Re-evaluating our thinking when it comes to feeding calves for the calories they need can assist in their ability to endure seasonal changes and other challenges that can impact calf health.

Colostrum

It’s a given that calves need a good measure of colostrum beginning at calving. We know that when we take a blood sample at 24–48 hours post-calving, calves well-fed with colostrum should reach a calibrated total protein of 6.0 grams per deciliter

For calves that require esophageal tubes, we need to make sure they are getting 1 gallon of colostrum within the first six hours of life.

Not only is quantity key, but quality is equally important. Colostrum needs to be clean, high in immunoglobulin (IgG), low in bacteria and fed as soon possible. If colostrum is not fed within one hour, it needs to be cooled to less than 35 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent bacterial growth.

Cleanliness

A standard procedure to ensure milk bottles and nipples are properly cleaned is extremely important to reduce pathogen exposure to calves. It is also vital that the environment the calf comes into is managed properly to ensure cleanliness.

“The maternity pen is the first place the calf is going to be, so ask yourself, can you kneel into the bedding and come out with dry knees?” asked Dorn.  “If you have a large surge in calving, you can have a very dirty pen, so ensuring that pen is cleaned as frequently as necessary is important.”

Calves should be moved to a clean “wet calf” area within the first 15 minutes of life before attempting to stand. Be sure to clean this area vigorously after every calf to prevent pathogens from spreading between calves.

Comfort

The thermo-neutral zone for a calf is 50–68 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the winter, use calf jackets and deep bedding.

In the summer, we start to get anxious when we have semi-opaque housing, as on hot days these hutches can get very hot if not ventilated properly. Looking at ways to provide additional ventilation and water to hutch calves during the summer months is key to keeping calves cool and comfortable.

Immune system

Everything we do impacts the health of the immune system. Normally, when bacteria invade the calf’s system, immune cells attack and swallow up the bad bacteria, destroying them. However, some bad bacteria can evade this immune response.

“The problem with some of the bugs that enter the immune system, such as Salmonella, is that they have developed ways to invade the calf’s immune system by hitching a ride on the white blood cells,” explained Dorn. “Once bacteria join ranks with the white blood cells, we have a breach in the immune system and have bugs we can’t kill, with few medicines or vaccines that can slow down this process. This is where MOS products come into play. When bacteria attempt to attach to receptors on the intestinal wall, MOS blocks the attachment of these bacteria.”

Stop bugs before they take hold in your livestock

Long gone are the days we could just give calves a drug and kill the bug. Dorn advised dairy producers to:

• Keep the maternity pen clean. Be sure to test the bedding regularly to ensure it is not too damp.
• Ensure calves are well-fed! Remember, calves need an adequate supply of energy not only to fuel metabolic activity, but to support their developing immune system.
• Alltech’s Bio-Mos® is designed to feed the gastrointestinal tract and is the original solution to intestinal health issues. It promotes good bacteria and builds defenses, thereby maximizing performance and profitability.

To watch the full webinar, click here.  For more information on how Bio-Mos might be a fit for your farm, visit bio-mos.com.

To listen to our entire conversation with Paul, click on the player.

From fish to humans: Algae's impact throughout the food chain 

Luther:                        Paul Groenewegen is the director of innovation and nutrition at Masterfeeds, an Alltech company. He’s here to talk with us about how algae might transform the way people and animals obtain essential nutrients. What are the benefits of algae?

Paul:                            Well, it’s a great question, Luther. The main benefits of algae are to provide a very sustainable, renewable source of the essential omega-3 fatty acids we hear a lot about in the industry, in consumer press. The main essential fatty acid that we’re going after with algae is DHA. So, we hear about the omega-3 fatty acids that we need to increase our omega-3 fatty acid intake, but the true fatty acid we need to consume is DHA, traditionally consumed through fatty fish, marine fish.

                                      So, how marine fish get this DHA-enriched meat is by eating as they go further up the food chain, starting with algae, the DHA. The algae go into the tissues of one species of fish that’s consumed by another, all the way up to, for instance, having pieces of marine salmon that are high in DHA.

                                      We always say that, you know, our mothers always told us that it was good to have fish once a week. And I believe on our food guides — I know the Canadian food guide indicates — that we have to have a meal of fatty fish at least once a week, and that’s to get the DHA. That’s where we’re coming from, from an algae perspective. So now, we have a sustainable source of nutritionally enhanced food that provides DHA from algae.

Luther:                        What are some important ways algae production can disrupt the status quo?

Paul:                            The main way we’ve traditionally received or utilized DHA in the food chain is through fish oil and fish meal that were harvested from the ocean. Utilizing algae that are produced in a very controlled, sustainable fashion, we now have a renewable source of DHA to enhance food products through meat, milk and eggs that is not depleting world stocks of fish.

                                      That’s the true disruptor: How do we maintain world stocks of fish while producing these larger quantities of a very sustainable, very digestible, very good source of food that once fed to animals enhances the DHA content of meat, milk and eggs?

Luther:                        So, what you’re saying is, instead of going from further down the food chain, we’re going up to a source, and we can either consume that or —through feeding to other animals — consume it when we consume those animals.

Paul:                            Absolutely. As I mentioned earlier, fatty fish, marine fish that we consume to get DHA in our diets, they have to consume the algae. So, we’re just circumventing that, and now we can put DHA into terrestrial animals — layers, pigs, chickens, etc. — that we can then consume and have a DHA-enriched source of terrestrial food (i.e., meat, milk and eggs) that we traditionally haven’t had before.

 Beyond nutrition: Algae in energy and baby formula

Luther:                        Algae has been a buzzword in the biofuel industry. Can you give me some ways in which it is disrupting that industry?

Paul:                            Yeah. The key component is algae. There are thousands of species of algae that you can grow under specific conditions to harvest carbon dioxide, which the algae then convert into fats, which then can be harvested and used in biofuel. By utilizing algae, it does give us a renewable source of energy. Whether it’s economical or not at this stage of the game is a whole other discussion, but it does allow for sequestering carbon into a fuel source.

Luther:                        Fascinating. What are some other product applications for algae?

Paul:                            Oh, the product applications for algae are widespread, from food sources (that) different parts of the algae can be used and extracted for, from cosmetics to all different kinds of food sources.

                                      If we think about human infant formulas, algae have been grown for years to produce DHA that then goes into human infant formulas. And for those listeners out there who have young infants, if you do have some infant formula in your house, take a look at the label. You’re going to see DHA on the label. In most cases, that will come from algae.

Luther:                        What items out there can algae replace?

Paul:                            The main items that they can replace from a food perspective are fish oil, fish meal and some different types of oils.

                                    Obviously, algae can produce different types of oils at different levels depending on how they’re grown. And you can replace oils for cosmetic reasons. You can replace oils for biofuel reasons. You can replace protein sources if you grow algae to produce protein.

                                      Obviously, from a nutritional perspective, we can utilize algae to produce a number of different products that can then displace typical products that we use to extend the overall lifespan of our more traditional products: from an oil perspective, for instance, or from a cosmetic perspective. And we can continue to grow algae very quickly, very economically. And it’s very sustainable. And it’s a renewable resource. 

Growing algae 

Luther:                        Can you bring us up to date on the status of Alltech’s algae research?

Paul:                            Our algae research has allowed us to register the technology across the globe in a number of countries, allowing us to make very specific claims on the enhancement of meat, milk and eggs with DHA. Regulatory bodies around the world stipulate that we have to have efficacy trials. And all the research that we have done globally has pointed directly to the fact that when you feed All-G Rich® to chickens, pigs, dairy cows and a number of other species that we’re doing research on now that we do enhance the DHA content of the meat, milk and eggs that they produce.    

                                      We are also looking at positive attributes to animal health from a welfare perspective and just an overall health perspective in the animals.

Luther:                        What of the future challenges of growing algae commercially?

Paul:                            How we grow it is extremely important.

                                      People think of algae and see pond scum and layers of algae, or we hear about algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico, for instance. That’s not the type of algae that we’re talking about.

                                      The big focus that we have now is growing very specific strains of algae under very controlled conditions to give us the very specific product we need.

                                      Algae are incredibly good at cleaning up the environment, and it just concentrates whatever contaminants you’re trying to clean up, and that’s one thing we’re not trying to do. We’re trying to grow algae very specifically to give us a very specific end product to enhance human food and animal feeds.

Luther:                        Are there challenges with the rising billions who are moving into the middle class (China, India, other parts of Asia, Africa) with the demand that’s going to be placed and meeting that demand in terms of production?

Paul:                            Oh, absolutely. And as the middle class continues to grow and as our world population continues to grow, we have to produce more food that’s very nutritious. And traditional global stocks of DHA through fish and fish oil are not only decreasing, but they’re not going to be able to meet the demands that are coming down the pipe.

                                      By utilizing fermentation technologies that allow us to grow algae in large quantities of very specific strains that produce very high-quality human food and animal feed technologies, that’s going to fill that gap as we grow up through the global population of the 6 to 7 billion; people are going to reach the 9 billion mark and are going to have that good sustainable food source as well.

Luther:                        What are the new markets (you’ve addressed some of those) for algae that it’s either disrupting or it’s starting from scratch or are new markets that it might be emerging into?

Paul:                            What we see is, we can utilize these technologies through algae. The biggest one I would say is functional foods and enhanced foods.

                                       At Alltech, we’re about enhancing food to better people’s lifestyles down the road and utilizing algae to produce functional foods for infants and the elderly.

                                      There are also some applications from a DHA perspective looking at different health conditions that, as we improve our human health, it’s going to have a positive impact on the health care system so we can utilize these technologies to have an overall benefit to society.

The health benefits to algae 

Luther:                        You’ve touched a lot upon DHA and its definite health benefits. Are there any specifics that DHA actually addresses in terms of our health, that it promotes health, or it may be a condition that it helps to treat or to improve?

Paul:                            We know that DHA is required in infants for brain development.

                                    If we think about our brain, it’s a very fatty substance, and we require a lot of DHA fat in our brain for membrane integrity. So, as young children are developing, they require DHA in their diet to develop the brain. There are cardiovascular issues in adults, there are eye issues, and DHA has a positive impact.

                                      I think from a sports perspective, concussions are a big concern in football and hockey. Being a Canadian, yes, hockey — we follow it very closely. And knowing that a lot of sports players run into concussion issues, I truly believe that utilizing DHA for sports injury repair is something that’s coming down the road as well.

                                      Just think about it: You get a concussion, your brain is damaged. You need to replace and rejuvenate the membranes of your brain. Some of the research is showing that this is going to have a huge impact.

                                      So, it’s brain development in human infants. I believe there are impacts on brain repair through sports injuries or automobile accidents or whatever injury. People fall, and they hit their head sometimes. So, there’s an application there, as well as cardiovascular disease. That’s all part of the omega-3 concept and increasing our omega-3s and overall improving human health.

Luther:                        What opportunities are there on the horizon? What do you see either today or tomorrow or maybe an interesting fact we haven’t touched upon when it comes to algae?

Paul:                            The biggest impact we’re going to have is: How do we produce large enough quantities at economical rates and then have those technologies registered to be used for animal and human food products?

                                      Our regulatory bodies have to look at these conditions extremely closely so that we can move fast enough so that these technologies can replace depleting stocks of the traditional feed stocks or food stocks that we have to meet the demands of the growing population in the world. So, that’s going to be the biggest roadblock: How do we scale up production fast enough and get acceptance through the industry to utilize new technologies? We have to adopt these technologies not only from a regulatory perspective, but from an application perspective as well.                  

Luther:                        And, finally, bringing this back home, how do algae affect the average consumer’s kitchen table? You’ve talked a lot about DHA. Other than just DHA, are there other ways that it’ll affect the average consumer, their kitchen table, their health, the food they eat?

Paul:                            Yeah. By enhancing the food that consumers eat, we know we have a very safe supply of ingredients, low in contaminants. Global regulatory agencies and governments around the world are watching the food we eat more and more to make sure there are no contaminants in there.

                                Utilizing a technology like algae that’s grown under very specific conditions allows us to produce a much more consistent and much safer human food product.

                                As well, there are potential attributes not only looking at the fatty acid component of algae, but maybe some of the other structural components that are coming down the pipe that we can say, by utilizing the structural components of algae, the carbohydrates in algae, the protein in algae, we can enhance our overall diet, broaden our spectrum of nutrients and ingredients that we consume to give us a healthier population.

Luther:                        Paul Groenewegen, director of innovation and nutrition at Masterfeeds , an Alltech company. Thank you for your time.

Paul:                            Thank you.

Paul Groenewegen spoke at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). To hear more talks from the conference, sign up for the Alltech Idea Lab. For access, click on the button below.

The 20-somethings were from all over the world: the U.S., England, Ireland, Turkey, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Peru. And if they had one thing in common, it was their view of the supermarket.

“Do you think grocery stores are important?” they were asked by Alltech Chief Innovation Officer Aidan Connolly.

“Yes, they’re very important,” replied one young woman, “for old people.”

Leading Alltech’s Corporate Career Development Program, Connolly was hearing in this next generation of consumers a receptiveness for the sweeping, fundamental changes in the production, distribution, purchase and consumption of food heralded by the $13.4 billion Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods.

“When we buy our groceries, we mostly buy online,” one student told him.

The huge e-commerce company had already been dipping its toe in the food delivery market when it turned its eye toward Whole Foods.  AmazonFresh, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, is a grocery delivery service currently available in some U.S. states, London, Tokyo and Berlin.

The announced intentions of this mega consumer product distributor to take a step further into the brick-and-mortar premium grocery business has made waves all along the food chain, from retail to agriculture.

“I think it's an extraordinary moment,” said Mary Shelman, former director of Harvard Business School's Agribusiness Program. “This could truly be a disruption rather than a change."

“Disruption means you do something in a completely different way rather than just making some incremental changes to it,” Shelman continued. “Amazon, which had historically envisioned a world without brick-and-mortar stores, is now, in one fell swoop, making a significant run into that brick-and-mortar world.”

The deal, providing Amazon access to Whole Foods’ 466 stores in the United States and the United Kingdom, hasn’t yet closed, and there is plenty of speculation that competitive bids could materialize. But Amazon has its reasons to pursue the acquisition with determination.

“Food is the least penetrated category from the online shopping standpoint,” explained Shelman. “Amazon clearly wants to bring that into the fold. I think the realization is that it takes some different skills and infrastructure in food than perhaps they are set up to deal with, so this gives them a tremendous opportunity to learn from that, and to run with that.”

Addressing widely held consumer perceptions may also play an important role in this odd-couple marriage.

As Shelman sees it, “For Amazon, the biggest challenge in delivering fresh products to your home is what everybody always says: ‘Oh, I don't trust them. I want to go pick out my fruits and veggies and my meats myself.’ Whole Foods brings in that brand name that has value, so it’s: ‘I trust Whole Foods, so now I trust Amazon bringing me Whole Foods quality. Do I trust Whole Foods to deliver for me? I don't think they're very efficient. But Amazon delivering Whole Foods is like, wow!’ So both sides win from the opposite brand name.”

What might this mean at some key points along the food supply chain?

Producers and growers in an Amazon/Whole Foods world

The biggest obstacle for producers trying to access markets through the food retail industry today is the enormous power held by the supermarket and big box chains as gatekeepers to the consumer.

Control of in-store product positioning provides an enormous source of revenue for traditional supermarkets. So-called “slotting fees” must be paid to win premium space in order for a product to appear on the shelves of Krogers, Safeways and other major chain stores.

“Only big companies can afford to do that,” said Shelman. “Even if you are a small company and can find the money to pay a slotting fee to get on the shelf, the ongoing costs of the promotion and support that it takes to actually get your sales up to a level that is acceptable to that retailer is a staggering number — something like $100 million, $10 million to introduce a new brand today.”

A major casualty of this, she notes, is creativity.

“We see that in the big packet food industries: They just bring out yet another flavor, another line, another variation in that brand, and they keep blocking up that shelf,” she explained. “You really don't get any true innovation there.”

Shelman believes the evolution of the “Amazon marketplace” is providing new opportunities for smaller producers to bypass those costs and directly reach the consumer.

But Connolly believes “Big Ag” and smaller farmers alike have some concern.

“It's part of seismic changes taking place in the food chain,” he said. “The top 10 food companies have seen a decline in their sales, profits and share prices as consumers reject traditional famous food brands built around processed foods.”

Every day these shifts are reflected in the news: Nestlé being a $3.5 billion target by an activist investor; Kraft’s attempted takeover of Unilever; Amazon gobbling up Whole Foods; and Wal-Mart’s purchase of Jet.com 

So, if traditional “Big Food” players are in trouble, how should agribusiness respond?

“It must adapt to the new reality,” says Connolly, listing the top three strategies food businesses must take to thrive in the changing landscape:

1. Become lean: Big Food that is merging or being acquired will seek to drive costs out of the system.
2. Deliver prosumer values to address the prosumer and millennial agenda of traceability, transparency, sustainability, welfare and removing unwanted additives.
3. Go direct and to build your own brands again.  

Connolly notes that “this is a new era with the food business re-fragmenting, and smaller brands will be faster to build and sell direct. Consumer sales over the internet offer an opportunity for ‘Big Ag’ that was not available 20 years ago.”

In this new coupling, who will take the lead? Shelman expects that Amazon will pull Whole Foods toward its brand promise and mass appeal: convenience and reasonably priced items across quality levels.

“I don't believe Amazon will broadly adopt the same positioning and values as Whole Foods across their broader food portfolio,” she said. “I can't imagine them not selling Cheerios or Kraft Mac & Cheese online. They may initially adopt a higher quality approach in fresh products — meats and produce, since those seem to require a stronger brand to sell.” 

Consumers in an Amazon/Whole Foods world

Photo Credit: Whole Foods

Today’s consumer is swimming in a sea of options and information. The innovation of the “food kit” has given rise to the home-delivered packages offered by Blue Apron, HelloFresh, Plated, Purple Carrot and Home Chef. Nestlé has invested in the prepared meal delivery service Freshly, and Sun Basket has attracted Unilever capital.

It takes time to complete a merger with all the complexities brought to the table by Amazon and Whole Foods. So what's going to happen to the rest of the food industry while t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted? Views differ about the extent to which the merger will cause change.

Speaking to analysts and investors at a conference in Boston, Kroger CFO Mike Schlotman said he doesn’t envision a major shift to people ordering groceries online for delivery to their homes.

“Part of me refuses to believe that everybody is just going to sit at home and everything is going to be brought to their doorstep and nobody is ever going to leave home to do anything again,” said Schlotman.

But, according to Connolly, “the United States has been slower to the party than other parts of the world,” and there is plenty of evidence that significant change is already well underway.

“Maybe there are some of us that take joy in walking up and down the grocery aisle and doing that as our chore, but what consumers are saying is that they're voting with their feet,” Connolly said. “They're saying, ‘If you give me a better alternative, I won’t go to the store.’"

Connolly recalls the observations of a friend who is involved in the food industry in the U.K., working with Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, who forecasts that we're in the last five to eight years of the big box model of the supermarket.

“What we're going to see in the future, according to him, is much more of a Starbucks version of a grocery store,where you can buy the small produce, organic, the pieces that you want to have hands on, but for the most part, you're going to pick it on your cell phone, ordering it directly, and it will arrive today by delivery in a half-an-hour increment,” he explained. “So if you say 4:00 p.m., it'll be between 4:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. In the future, that will be delivered by robots, which is already happening in England, and eventually it'll happen by drone.”

One of the world’s largest pork producers, Smithfield Shuanghui of China, has a strategic cooperation agreement to sell packaged Smithfield meats through JD.com, a Chinese version of Amazon.

“They’re creating a cold chain system from the warehouse to the customer, selling fresh chilled foods, including packaged meats,” says Michael Woolsey, senior strategic manager for Alltech China. “If a customer in the morning decides they want to have hotdogs from Smithfield for dinner that night, they take out their cell phone, dial up JD.com, order the hotdogs and the truck shows up later that afternoon. Chilled distribution the entire way to the consumer’s door. So, it’s a superior product. It’s what consumers want. It’s an exciting development.”

Shelman says today’s marketplace “is just fundamentally different” as consumers are being conditioned to a whole different set of solutions.

“I think for everybody now, the fun of thinking about these different scenarios and letting go of the old retail model is leading us all to be very challenged to think about what that future is going to be like,” she said. “How are we going to get our food 10 years from now?”

Connolly sees profound change arriving even sooner.

“If we think of machine vision, where you use a camera with artificial intelligence, you can teach your camera to recognize what you want in your meat, what you want in your produce,” he said. “It can learn to smell the produce. It can learn to recognize the color that you want. It can probably even, using these internet of things-type devices, give you all of the origins of and the pesticides used in the products, all of the things that might cause allergies.

“So, your drone, equipped with the right camera and the right artificial intelligence, can do these things,” continued Connolly. “And we are not talking about something that is going to happen in the next 30 years. This can happen within the next 12 months.”

And 20-somethings from Brazil to Kazakhstan can hardly wait.

On long, hot summer days, at family celebrations and on national holidays, there’s nothing better than finishing off the day with fresh-from-the-cow, homemade ice cream.

Alltech territory sales manager Scott Holloway, who grew up in Bowie, Texas, has fond memories of his great-grandmother Ineta Wood’s ice cream, made fresh with milk from their family dairy. Scott’s family continues to use Grandmother Wood’s recipe for every summer holiday celebration, from Memorial Day to the Fourth of July to Labor Day, and especially for family birthdays. Even friends of the family expect it to be at every gathering!

“I remember, growing up, my mother making it, and the sound of the electric freezer running in the kitchen,” said Scott. “The best part is licking the paddle after the ice cream is frozen. Now my kids enjoy doing that, just as I did.”

Today, the Holloways have an old White Mountain hand-crank freezer that makes the magic happen. He says it’s fun to use, even though it’s hard work, and the end result of  rich, creamy ice cream is worth the effort. Over the years, the family has experimented with delicious changes on the basic recipe. Scott’s favorite flavor is chocolate, although his grandmother, Grandma Kay, makes an excellent Butterfinger recipe that is a family favorite.

Scott says that the best part about the ice cream was always the fresh milk used from their own family dairy herd. His grandfather started the dairy in 1971, when they milked about 150 Brown Swiss and Holstein cows. Scott’s father and Scott himself both came back and worked at the dairy, too, until they sold in 2014. Now they enjoy the family’s ice cream recipe using store-bought milk, but they cherish the special memories of when the milk came from their own cows.

Grandmother Wood’s Homemade Ice Cream

You’ll need an ice cream freezer with a 1-gallon freezer can for this recipe.

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

Dash of salt

1 quart whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Milk (about 2/3 gallon)

Mix 1 cup of sugar, flour and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk about 1 quart of milk into sugar mixture. Microwave for 3 minutes, then whisk. Microwave again for about 2 minutes.

While cooking sugar mixture, beat eggs in a separate bowl. Beat ½ cup of hot mixture into eggs and then quickly beat eggs into the rest of the hot mixture. Microwave 3–4 minutes.

Chill in refrigerator.

Once chilled, place in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the remaining cup of sugar and vanilla extract, then add whipping cream. Stir in milk to fill bowl. Pour ice cream mixture into freezer can and add more milk until can is filled. Freeze according to freezer instructions.

Have a question or comment?

Nikki Putnam, registered dietitian nutritionist and nutrition solutions specialist at Alltech, compares cow’s milk to other milk alternatives and explains why cow’s milk still reigns supreme nutritionally.

Once, milk was a beverage made only by dairy cows. But a walk into the "milk" section of today’s supermarket would suggest otherwise.

With a growing selection of milk alternatives made from soy, almond, rice, hemp, coconut and cashew, consumers have become increasingly confused by the health attributes touted by both milk and milk alternatives.

While these plant-based products make up less than 10 percent of milk sales, they are gaining ground. Even popular coffee chains have hopped on the milk alternative train — will your mocha be made with 2%, 1%, nonfat…or soy, almond or coconut milk?

Plant-based milks have been perceived, or sometimes advertised, as healthier alternatives to dairy, but that’s not always the case. Milk alternatives were created to accommodate consumers who have an allergy, are lactose intolerant or have vegan dietary restrictions, not because they are nutritionally equivalent or better.

Check the (nutrition) facts on the milk carton 

Milk alternatives, with the exception of soy milk, have considerably less protein than dairy milk. Although many of the plant products fortify their beverages with additional nutrients, they also have a long list of added ingredients, including sugar, salt and thickening agents.

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee identified low- and fat-free dairy as part of a healthy diet. With the exception of fortified soy milk, the same cannot be said for milk alternatives, which lack the quantity and quality of nutrients milk has, including vitamin D, calcium and potassium.

Milk, yogurt and cheese are naturally nutrient-rich foods that provide many essential nutrients that contribute to good health at all stages of life. Milk is a natural source of calcium and vitamin B12, riboflavin, phosphorus and potassium. It also contains smaller amounts of other nutrients including vitamin A, other B-vitamins, vitamin D, magnesium, iodine, selenium and zinc.

Dairy foods are also excellent sources of high quality protein that contain essential amino acids, which the human body cannot synthesize itself. ¹  

What type of milk is best for toddlers?  

Cow’s milk is not recommended during the first 12 months of life. However, fortified cow’s milk is an important dietary component of a toddler’s diet because of its high-quality protein, calcium, and vitamins A and D. Calcium is involved in bone growth, tooth development, and muscle contraction, and it may play a role in the regulation of blood pressure and body fat.²  

One study showed that children who consumed milk with the noontime meal were the only group to meet or exceed 100 percent of the daily Dietary Reference Intake for calcium (i.e., 500 to 800 mg).³ Two or three servings of milk or dairy products per day are recommended to meet these requirements.

What's in your glass? 

This chart from National Dairy Council^® is a great at-a-glance look at how milk compares to the alternatives.

Credit: National Dairy Council. Original post: https://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/content/2015/whats-in-your-glass. 

More milk truth?

For more information, visit National Dairy Council's website.

Check out #getreal and #milktruth on social media for more highlights on the differences between dairy and plant milks.

References

1. European Dairy Association Position Paper: MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS ARE PART OF A HEALTHY, BALANCED DIET INCLUDING THOSE CONTAINING ADDED SUGAR 2015
2. Allen R, Myers A. Nutrition in Toddlers. Am Fam Physician. 2006 Nov 1;74(9):1527-1532.
3. Johnson RK, Panely C, Wang MQ. The association between noon beverage consumption and the diet quality of school-age children. J Child Nutr Mgmt. 1998;22:95–100.

I want to learn more about promoting the health of my dairy herd!

Long summer days, grills sizzling, friends laughing.

Fall colors, crisp leaves, fans cheering on their favorite football teams.

Winter chill, comfort food, families coming together for the holidays.

Spring flowers, rain showers, graduation parties.

No matter the season, this easy-to-prepare hamburger cheese dip is a fan favorite. For Randi Walden, an Alltech assistant marketing specialist in Georgia, this is her go-to potluck recipe when she wants to be the party hero!

Made of two kinds of cheese combined with ground beef, this dip showcases the delicious products of both the dairy and beef industries, and the short ingredient list and quick preparation time make the dish perfect for any pop-up party.

Randi’s Hamburger Cheese Dip

1 package Velveeta (16 ounces)

1 package cream cheese (8 ounces)

1 pound hamburger meat, browned and drained (if greasy)

While the hamburger meat is browning, cube all the cheese and place it into a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Microwave until cheese is melted, stirring as needed to combine. Once the cheese is melted and mixed, stir in the browned hamburger meat. Serve with chips of your choice.

This may also be made in a slow cooker, to help keep it warm for serving.

Have a question or comment?

Doctoring calves is never easy. Doctoring lots of calves is a nightmare. For producers, nothing takes more time or creates more stress than seeing sick cattle. So how do you get ahead of the problem and address herd health and immunity before it's too late?

In a recent webinar, Dr. Kate Jacques, Alltech’s director of nutrition, shared how to bolster herd immunity and increase profitability.

Strike Out Scours, Fight Down Stress Webinar

Key tips for bolstering your herd’s immunity

Identify stress points

When it comes to boosting immunity, “Stress is the enemy,” said Dr. Jacques. Scours, respiratory issues or decreases in dry matter intake are all indicators that cattle may be stressed.

The first thing to do is identify the source of stress. Common stress points include:  

• Weaning
• New pens, chutes or feed bunks
• Movement through marketing channels
• Shipment – both to pasture and feedlot
• Diet changes

Keeping cattle healthy and maximizing growth means getting them through a number of crunch points before finish. Rethinking how to best handle these stressors is a continual process, but it is critically important to do so to keep immunity high.

Boost gut health through nutrition

Feeding some form of starch, fiber, protein and mineral is typical in most rations, but realizing the opportunity other nutrient forms can play shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Bio-Mos® provides a new perspective on carbohydrate nutrition. Bio-Mos is in a unique class of functional feed ingredients able to play a positive role in gut health.

“If you can reduce challenges to the intestine, you can promote a healthy gut, and that’s exactly what Bio-Mos does," said Dr. Jacques.

For over 20 years, Bio-Mos has been Alltech’s trademark technology. Studied in more than 733 research trials, it has been proven to aid nutrient uptake while also binding potentially harmful gut bacteria to drive growth and performance at all stages of production.

Put a plan in place; Act on it

At the end of the day, there’s a tension between knowing something is a best practice for your operation and actually doing it.

Dr. Jacques stressed that producers need to be strategic and that waiting to spot a problem means that profits have already been lost. To best boost immunity, analyze your operation’s potential stress points and use technologies like Bio-Mos in the ration before a gut health or immunity challenge. 

Trust that with proper management and nutrition, profits will follow. Like thousands of others across, producers such as Clifton Goff of B-Gee Angus in Nebraska have seen the benefits of having a plan and using Bio-Mos. He explains that by using Bio-Mos they’ve, “got a healthy herd of calves running, and I haven’t dealt with anything respiratory.”

By being proactive, you can fight a mess of stress in your operation and boost your herd’s immunity. To learn more about how Bio-Mos might benefit your beef cattle, visit bio-mos.com or contact beef@alltech.com.

Have a question or comment?

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – For three days in May, Lexington, Kentucky, USA, became the nexus of global food and agribusiness. ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference welcomed 4,000 people from nearly 80 countries to discuss breakthrough technologies and business practices that have the potential to disrupt the marketplace.

For those who missed the discussions or are yearning for a replay of their favorite talk, recordings of most presentations are now available on the Alltech Idea Lab. Access is free upon signup.

Available presentations from the 33rd international conference include:

• Boundless Potential – George Blankenship
• Can Agriculture Save the Planet? – Jack Bobo
• Why Simple Wins – Lisa Bodell
• A World of Abundance – Peter Diamandis
• Meeting the Demands of the Rising Billion – Dr. Mark Lyons
• Disruption in Washington – Damien McLoughlin
• Into the Cloud: Disruptive Digital Technologies – Robert Walker
• The Next Blockbuster Drug – Ronan Power
• Are the Disruptors Being Disrupted? – Aidan Connolly
• Pitches from The Pearse Lyons Accelerator program for agri-tech and food startups
• Special breakout sessions on beef, dairy, poultry, pig, aquaculture, crop and equine topics of interest, in addition to business and finance, health and nutrition and food and beverage

ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE18) will return to Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from May 20–23, 2018. Visit one.alltech.com for more information and to save $500 by registering before Aug. 1 for the 34th international conference.